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Oct 9, 2019 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Sports are an important window into the history of the White House. What do the sports facilities in today’s thread suggest to you about the presidential administrations that installed and used them? (1/7)
The White House tennis court, first built in 1902 behind the West Wing, was moved to the west side of the South Lawn in 1909. Here, President Gerald Ford and his son, Steve, play tennis on the White House court in 1974. (2/7)

Credit: National Archives and Records Administration
A heated indoor swimming pool was built in 1933 for Franklin D. Roosevelt's therapy as he was disabled by polio. During President Richard Nixon's first term, this space in the West Wing was converted into the Press Room. (3/7)

Credit: National Archives and Records Administration
The Ford administration installed an outdoor pool on the South Lawn in 1975. Here, President Gerald R. Ford swims as reporters look on. (4/7)

Credit: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum / NARA
Bowling lanes were first installed in 1947 in the basement of the West Wing but were moved to the Old Executive Office Building in 1955. In 1973, President and Mrs. Nixon had this one-lane alley built in an underground workspace. (5/7)

Credit: White House Historical Association
A jogging track was built around the driveway of the South Grounds during President Bill Clinton's first term. (6/7)

Credit: William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum / NARA
President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a putting green with a small sand trap installed outside the Oval Office. This practice green was removed in the 1970s, and a new green was installed during the presidency of Bill Clinton. (7/7)

Credit: White House Historical Association

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More from @WhiteHouseHstry

White House History Profile picture
Mar 12, 2021
It’s #FirstLadyFriday, and today we’re highlighting the life of First Lady Jane Pierce, born in New Hampshire on this day in 1806.

Image: Library of Congress

1/7
Jane Appleton married Franklin Pierce in 1834, though she was uninterested in politics and the spotlight that came with it.

Image: White House Collection/White House Historical Association

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Their marriage was marked by tragedy, as they had lost two young children before Pierce’s election to the presidency in 1852. Unfortunately, death followed them to the White House.

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Feb 27, 2021
Salvadore Catalano, a Sicilian-born sailor, became an American naval hero as a critical player in a secret mission during the First Barbary War.

A native of Sicily, his composure and knowledge of Tripoli Harbor were essential to the mission.

Image: Library of Congress

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In one of the most courageous actions in American naval history, Catalano piloted the Intrepid for Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s destruction of the captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor in 1804.

Image: U.S. Naval Academy Museum Collection/U.S. Navy Photograph

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The mission to destroy the USS Philadelphia was perilous. Pirates (also called Corsairs) on board the Philadelphia hailed Decatur, but it was Catalano who answered, buying time for the Intrepid crew to attach ropes to the Philadelphia to pull the vessels together.

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White House History Profile picture
Feb 26, 2021
This #FirstLadyFriday, we recognize the many women who served as “surrogate” White House hostesses. Typically, first ladies are the wives of presidents, but daughters, nieces, sisters, daughters-in-laws, and friends have stepped into this significant role.

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President Thomas Jefferson, whose wife, Martha, passed away nearly two decades before his inauguration, was the first president to be joined by surrogate hostesses at the White House.

2/6
His daughters, Martha Jefferson Randolph (pictured here) and Maria Jefferson Eppes, welcomed guests to the Executive Mansion, dined with visitors, and managed enslaved and free servants.

Image: Library of Congress

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White House History Profile picture
Feb 25, 2021
After his farewell speech at the entrance to the White House on September 7, 1825, an emotional Marquis de Lafayette embraced President John Quincy Adams, signalling the end of his yearlong triumphant return to the United States.

Image: White House Historical Association

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Originally intended as a four-month tour, the general’s visit stretched into a thirteen-month journey to all twenty-four states, and inspired patriotic celebrations and expressions across a young country during the waning days of the “Era of Good Feelings.”

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President Adams could not allow the general to leave without one last celebration in his honor. Adams celebrated Lafayette’s September 6 birthday with a White House dinner.

Image: White House Collection/White House Historical Association

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White House History Profile picture
Jan 28, 2021
Vice President John Tyler, a former Democrat from Virginia, ascended to the presidency as a member of the Whig Party following the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841. (1/6)

Image Credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
As president, Tyler vetoed a bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States, along with several bills proposed by fellow Whigs and sponsored by Henry Clay, a prominent Whig member of the U.S. Senate. (2/6)

Image Credit: Library of Congress
Following his veto, members of his party expelled Tyler from the Whig Party, and every member of Tyler’s cabinet eventually resigned, with the exception of Secretary of State Daniel Webster (pictured here). (3/6)

Image Credit: Library of Congress
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White House History Profile picture
Jan 27, 2021
Upon moving into the White House, each president redecorates the Oval Office to make it their own. The president’s desk is perhaps the most important piece of furniture chosen for the room. (1/8)

Image Credit: White House Historical Association Image
Many American presidents have elected to use historical White House desks for their workspace. (2/8)
The Resolute Desk, for example, was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880, and has been used by many presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. (3/8)

Image Credit: WHHA Image
Read 8 tweets

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